The Young Knight
by Tripl36ix
Summary: In life, one does always expect smooth sailing. For Audrena, the chance of joining a crew of smugglers was definitely not what she had in mind for her own. But it was definitely better than the life she had before. Problem is, the Alliance never gives up. Slight RiverOC.
1. Chapter 1

**Hello and welcome to my first story, The Young Knight.**

 **I had this idea rolling around in my head for a few weeks and a character popped up that I simply had add. For the purposes of the story, I've aged River up from 16 to 18. Also, at first, a lot of the dialogue from the show will be intact. The reason being that a new character probably wouldn't make huge shifts to what's said in the beginning. As the story goes on, expect more original dialogue. Also, excuse any spelling or grammar errors as I don't have a beta and Windows Office only goes so far.**

 **All characters belong to Joss Whedon, except for my OC of course, and I'm making no money off of it.**

 **Thanks and enjoy the story**

 **XxXxXxX**

 _In the cold darkness of the forest, Audrena walked silently across the snow covered ground, the sword in her right hand angled out to the side. Her white shield was covering her left arm and raised to cover her torso. The sword was a 32 inch, single edged chokuto, a remnant style based on Earth-that-was. Its jet black hilt was gripped tightly by a pale, gloved hand, nearly as pale as the white snow she was currently stepping through to reach her objective._

 _A flash met her eyes, causing her to kneel and a position her shield to protect her body. The protective metal shield vibrated as bullets danced across its surface. A few of the shots went wide, whizzing past and impacting the trees behind her. She lowered the shield slightly, just enough to stare over the top at the gun emplacement that was currently reloading 100 yards ahead of her._

 _With a deep breath, Audrena sprinted and covered distance on a matter of seconds. She knocked the gunner out of the placement, sending him sprawling to the snow covered ground. She quickly struck out with her sword, stabbing him straight in his heart. The man gurgled and blood started to leak out of his mouth as he eventually lay still in the white snow. Audrena said a small prayer for the man she had just slain, but could not linger. Her eyes surveyed her surroundings, spotting the large mansion labeled in her mission dossier._

 _Her target was somewhere inside._

 _The problem was she wasn't sure what they looked like. Only a name was given: Lizbeth Thompson. Hopefully, the mansion wasn't that full and she could complete her mission without extra casualties. A speeder was parked in front of the garage, indicating that there was a presence inside. Audrena did a circuit around the large building, looking for any weaknesses. She quickly spotted an open window in the second level. Apparently someone like the cold weather. Sheathing her sword on her back, and laying the shield over top of it in its magnetic sling, she stealthily scaled the wall and made her way to the open window._

 _Taking a quick look inside, she found she was peeking into a bedroom. She quietly stepped into the room, careful not to make any noise. The bed to her left was empty, but looked disturbed. Perhaps whomever had been in here had heard the machine gun go off outside. The rest of the room had indicated that belonged to a small child, most likely a girl judging by the toys on the bed and the colors of the room. She made her way to the bedroom door and opened it up, showing her a hallway. It was mostly dark, but one room at the end of the hall had lighting peeking out from it. She silently, made her ways toward, careful not to give away her presence. Once she got to the door, she put her ear to the cold wood, in an effort to try and see if there were any people on the other side. She heard whispered voices, but nothing distinctive could be gathered from the hushed conversation._

 _Drawing her sword once more, she kicked the door in with practiced ease. The door gave way with a groan and cracked in half as it slammed to the floor. Screams rang out as a man and woman huddled together on the bed, both looking at Audrena with wide, terrified eyes. The man quickly moved himself forward, shielding the woman and trying to look as defiant as he possibly could. Audrena stared back, pointing her sword straight at the man's chest._

 _"Names," Audrena said plainly._

 _"W-what?"The man stuttered back. "Your names. What are they?" Audrena said with a bit of steel in her voice this time._

 _"What are you doing in our house?" the man replied, looking even more afraid._

 _"I'm looking for someone," she stated, boring her ice blue eyes deep into the man's brown ones. The man was about to respond when a small noise came from behind Audrena. She took a small step back, still pointing the sword at the man but allowing herself to identify the source of the noise. A small, five year old girl stood in the door way, staring wide-eyed up at Audrena. "Lizbeth, run! Get to the safe room."_

 _Just then, Audrena's blood ran cold. She stared at the girl in front of her, taking in every detail. Her curly brown hair barely made it past her shoulders, framing a young face. The brown eyes completely visible above a small nose and a slightly open mouth. Freckles dotted her face.. This girl was the one she was supposed to kill?_

 _'This was the mission?' she thought to herself. 'Who could have possibly approved this?' She had only killed traitors to the Alliance. A child was innocent, pure. What possible motive could this have come from? A scrambling sound came from the direction of bed, indicating that the man made to move towards Audrena. She looked over at his large form leaping towards the sword stretched towards him. Her arm moved on its own. The woman screamed._

Audrena's eyes snapped open, her breathing ragged. In her hand was a knife that she had pulled out from underneath her pillow. Eyes darting around the room, she held her breath, looking for any disturbances. Nothing moved for a few seconds before Audrena let out the deep breath that she had been holding. Placing the knife down on the bedside table next to her, she quickly moved from her bed to the window across the room. Dawn greeted her, the sun barely clearing the mountains as it lit up part of the Eavesdown Docks.

Persephone was really an interesting dichotomy. It was one of the original colonies that was founded after Earth-That-Was and it had a heavy Alliance presence. The cities located on its surface were gleaming in shiny new splendor, a tribute to what money could build. The slums, on the other hand, were controlled by local gangs and moneymen that wanted power over anything the Alliance didn't really care for.

As she watched the early risers get ready for the day, she thought back to the earlier nightmare that had woken her. She shook her head, trying to erase the burned in image of the young girl's shocked expression. Turning away from the window, she decided that she probably wasn't going to get back to sleep and might as well start her day. That began with a trip to the bathroom and a nice shower. After spending five minutes under tepid water, she got out and began to towel herself off. She caught her reflection in the mirror and paused, looking at herself for what seemed like the first time in months.

A slightly pale face stared back at her, framed by pure white hair. Her ice blue eyes looked pale as well, like they were losing their color. Her necklace hung around her neck. It was a simple gold chain with a cross. She had that necklace for as long as she could remember She leaned in closer to the mirror to scrutinize her skin. No blemishes were seen minus the freckles that were dusted over the bridge of her nose.

Surveying the rest of her body, her eyes passed over the few light scars that appeared at different places. At the young age of nineteen, Audrena thought her body would have filled out a bit more. She was a reasonably tall 5'11" but her chest area had not filled out completely. Years of chest bindings and skin tight body suits had stunted their growth. _More sacrifices I gave for the 'great' cause._

Audrena shook her head, driving thoughts of her old life out of her mind for the time being. She needed to figure out what to do next. _Maybe I'll go down to the docks and look for a freighter that's taking passengers_. God knows she needed to get out of Alliance controlled space before she was discovered. She dug through her bag, searching for her clothes. She had to move quickly. She had grabbed a pair of pants and a plain looking shirt. Grabbing her boots, she pulled them on. Her blue coat was hanging over a chair. She grabbed some of the things that were scattered over the table including a tablet and a few personal documents. Securing them away, she pulled the bag over her shoulder. She picked up her other bag that was laying on the floor next to her bed. It held some other personal items and supplies.

She made her way down to the front desk and gave her room key to the woman manning the desk. She was a dumpy, short woman who looked like she had lived in the Eavesdown Docks her entire life.

"Didja enjoy your stay, missy?" the lady asked, giving Audrena a critical eye, almost like the woman was going to judge her for the rest of her life based on Audrena's response.

It unnerved her a bit.

"Yes, it was pleasant," Audrena answered back, then asked, "How much do I owe you?" She hoped that this stay wouldn't drain her funds. Fifty thousand platinum seemed like a lot when she first left, but it turned out not to last very long. As it was, she was down to her last ten thousand platinum. Maybe she should look for work while at the docks.

"100 credits. Or 250 platinum, if you have that."

It wasn't a huge hit by any stretch, but she had to be careful. She had no idea how much a ticket would cost on a ship. She pulled out the money laid it on the table, coins clinking together. "Thank you very much, miss," the woman said cheerfully, smiling widely. Audrena noticed that she was missing quite a few teeth.

She made her way outside, blinking away the sudden light that greeted her eyes. The morning had truly started now and vendors were opening their stalls, eager to sell to citizens and ship crews alike. She passed in between them, heading towards the main part of the docks. She was trying not to draw attention to herself as she passed by a few Alliance patrols. She wasn't sure if her previous employers had put out a picture of her yet. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw an Alliance patrol pointing in her direction. She tried not to notice but picked up her speed hoping to lose them in the crowd. Another quick look told her that the patrol was now heading over to her, speaking into their communicators.

Audrena stopped and put down the bag in her left hand. She shifted her bag over to her left shoulder, giving herself easy access to her sword that was hidden in her pack. She didn't want to kill them, but she was willing to debilitate them a little so she could get away. She stood in the middle of a shifting crowd. She held her breath, listening for the steps of the two Alliance patrolmen. They were about five meters behind when she grabbed her hilt. Just when she was about to spin around and attack, they passed her on either side and caught up to a man that was walking a few meters ahead of her. Audrena let out her breath, letting go of the hilt and walking past the man being apprehended by the two Alliance feds, bickering about some stolen item. Audrena couldn't care less. She had almost attacked two men because she thought they were after her. She picked up her dropped bag and continued to move through the throng of people.

 _I need to get a grip_.

Finally she made it to the main part of the docks, where most of the ships were parked. Audrena made a note of each ship's destination, looking for someplace that she could disappear. Most were large transport ships that were taking people on tours of multiple planets and moons. Some of the smaller ones were settlement ships that were looking to start a settlement on an uninhabited planet. Audrena almost considered boarding one of these ships. She could make a fresh start and contribute to the creation of a new settlement, possibly even a new civilization. Many captains were talking to any wandering soul that would stop to look at their ships. Audrena just kept walking. Some were going to places she had no interest in going, others were merely too expensive. The cheaper ones were the settlers, but they were mostly full and looking for families besides.

Just when she was bout to go around the docks a second time, a flash of twirling color caught her eye. She looked for the source and found that it was a parasol, one used for a sunny day. The colors were like that of a rainbow, all swirling into the center, making it look like a pinwheel. The young woman holding it was sitting in a…lawn chair. _Where had she found that?_ Audrena wondered to herself. The woman in the chair looked nice enough, wearing a slightly dirty green jumpsuit with a blue silk jacket over the top of it. Her feet were barely covered by light blue and pink sandals. Her hair was pulled up so it was out of her face. She looked like she was a mechanic of some sort, considering she a few grease smudges on her face. She looked behind the young woman and noticed the ship she was sitting in front of.

It was a Firefly.

Scratch that, it was an _old_ Firefly.

Memories flooded through her mind of a young girl taking her first ride in a starship, making Audrena forget where she was. She was shaken from her thoughts when she heard a voice say to her, "She sure is a sight, ain't she?" Audrena focused her gaze back to the woman with the colorful, twirling parasol. _I guess I was staring too much._ The woman looked expectantly at her with a small, satisfied smile on her face.

"Uh, yeah. I don't think I've seen one of these in at least a decade." Audrena finally said. "Well that's not surprising. Serenity's probably one of the only Fireflies that parks here in Persephone."

"Serenity?" Audrena echoed.

"Oh yeah, that's the name of this beauty: Serenity," the woman said, climbing out of her seat and approaching Audrena. She stopped in front of her and held out her hand. "And my name's Kaylee." Audrena looked down at the offered hand, and then extended her own. "Pleased to meet you. I'm Audrena."

"That's a pretty shiny name; you don't hear that one too often. Are you fixing to go somewhere specific?" Kaylee asked, her hand now back on her parasol. Audrena opened her mouth, and then closed it. She wasn't sure how much she should say. People don't really respond well when you tell them you're running away from something, or at least they get too nosy.

"I'm, uh, looking for work in one of the colonies."

"Well, I think the captain said we were heading to Boros. Maybe you can find something there."

 _Boros_ , Audrena thought to herself. It was a big Alliance colony, but maybe she could find someplace out of the way. At any rate, it was a good place to hide and get her feet underneath her for a while. She decided to take the chance. "So, what's the going rate for transport?"

"Depends how many people are traveling with you and how stuff you're bringing." Kaylee chirped, obviously pleased that she was able to get a passenger. "Well, I'm traveling alone," Audrena stated. "And this pack is the only thing I've got with me," she finished, hefting the heavy bag on her shoulder.

"Well, in that case, I'd say for you and what you're bringing, it would be around 5,000 platinum or 2,000 credits. Unless you have some provisions." Audrena perked up when she heard that. She had a large bundle of food that she had taken with her when she made her…departure. She still had a fair amount of preserved meat, large containers of flour, sugar, salt, and several small bottles of spices. She showed this to Kaylee who looked almost ecstatic at some of the items shown to her.

"Wow, you really came prepared. Do you like to cook?" Kaylee asked, looking almost hopeful. Audrena nodded. It was one of her favorite things to do in her off time, and the money from her previous job allowed her to obtain premium goods. "Shiny! Well since, you're bringing on food, you can pay 1500 platinum. It would cost us twice this much to get stuff like this here at Persephone." Audrena smiled and gladly handed over the money. Now she wouldn't have to start out with almost nothing in Boros. "Thank you." Audrena said, fully grateful for the opportunity. "No problem, hun," Kaylee said with a smile, "Let me show you where you can store your things."

Audrena followed Kaylee up the ramp into the cargo bay of the aging transport. It was bigger than it looked on the outside. Boxes stood stacked near the walls. Over on the left side were a set of stairs that led up to a walkway that circled the entire cargo bay. Towards the back of the bay was another set of stairs that stopped at a metal landing about six feet off the ground. Two more sets of stairs rose to meet the walkways. The walls were nice and open, showing a lot more space than it seemed.

Kaylee stopped and turned towards her. "Well since you're the first one here, you can put your packs anywhere you want. We're probably not going to leave for a bit since the captain has business that he's taking care of." Audrena nodded, placing her packs down on the ground. She started to pull out her different foodstuffs when that she had with her when Kaylee stopped her "Oh, you don't need to do that right now. Like I said, we've still got a while to go. I'll take it when we're in the air. Audrena smiled up at her and nodded, zipping her bags back up and leaving them there. She really wanted to inspect her sword, but she couldn't really do it with Kaylee standing about. She'd just have to do it later.

"Do you want me to show you where you'll be staying?" Kaylee inquired. Audrena nodded her head and followed Kaylee as she led her to the back of the cargo bay. They walked down a few stairs and passed a lounge area and a room with glass windows. The lounge had a comfy looking couch and a few chairs. In the middle of the set was a small table. The room opposite looked like it hadn't been used in a while. A flight of stairs rose up next to the room, leading to some other part of the ship.

They stopped at a group of wooden, sliding doors, two on each side of a short hallway. Another short hall, split off showing that there were a few more rooms. Kaylee showed her which one she would be using. The room seemed simple enough: A bed with white clean sheets, a desk with a chair, and a small set of drawers. The room had a small sink in the corner. "The bathroom is down the hall, if you need it," Kaylee said, pointing to the hallway that was just off to the right. "I've got to get back up to the cargo bay, I've been gone long enough as it is."

"Well, thank you for showing me around," Audrena said sincerely. "No problem, hun," Kaylee chirped back, "If you need anything else, I'll be out in the bay."

"Do you…mind if I join you?" Audrena asked hopefully. "Of course you can! Not often that I get company with me while looking for passengers. The rest of the crew is usually doing business," Kaylee responded, looking happy at the prospect of having a person join her. She led them back up the stairs and crossed the cargo bay back to the chair that was waiting for them at the edge of the ramp. Kaylee took her seat again and Audrena sat down next to her. For the next few minutes, the two made intermittent conversation in which Kaylee did confirm for Audrena that she was the ship's mechanic. A few people stopped here and there to take a look at the ship and its destination, but none could really be swayed by Kaylee. Most of them weren't going to Boros anyway.

Finally, a young man who appeared to be in his early twenties paused in front of the ship, looking up at it critically. He was obviously rich folk based on his garb: shiny loafers, neat clean trousers, and a white shirt that was covered by a dark grey vest. Over top of that was a black suit. His face was adorned with a pair of red glasses, hiding his eyes. He finally looked at Kaylee, seeming like he just noticed her in front of him. "How long does it normally take you to get to Boros?" the man asked in an even voice. "Usually takes about 5 to 6 days," Kaylee replied. "And do you take many passengers?" The young man inquired "We just got the one so far," Kaylee responded, motioning to Audrena. Audrena gave a polite wave and a smile.

The young man didn't return the courtesy. "Fine, I'll buy passage on your ship, but I'll need someone to pick up a package that I have at my hotel."

"That's not a problem," Kaylee replied cheerfully, going inside the ship. Audrena continued to stare in silence at the man in front of him. The man fidgeted a bit, obviously a bit unnerved at Audrena's long gaze. Finally, he said "So, I suppose we're to be shipmates." Audrena nodded and said, "That's the notion. My name is Audrena." She stood up and stuck out her hand. The young simply stared at her, causing her to put her hand down at her side. An awkward silence filled the space in between the two for about five seconds before Kaylee came back out. "Ok, so our pilot is going to meet you at the hotel, and he'll pick up your package." The young man nodded and thanked her. He then left, making his way through the crowd towards the hotel. "Well, he seems very…nice," Kaylee said, taking a seat in her chair yet again. Audrena nodded but didn't comment, taking a seat beside her.

 _Didn't seem that nice to me._

A few minutes passed in silence before a middle aged man came quickly up to the ship, saying he wanted to pay for passage on Serenity. Kaylee accepted the pouch of money, but the man left before she could get his name. About fifteen minutes went before an older man in a blue coat He looked like he was carrying a heavy rolling suitcase behind him, based on how slow he was moving. He was looking at the different ships. He had white hair that was held back by a hair tie and a small smile on his face as he swiveled his head. Audrena felt a nudge on her shoulder. Looking over, she saw Kaylee looking at the man. She gave Audrena a playful look and said quietly, "Watch this."

"You're gonna come with us!" Kaylee yelled out, causing the man to look over at her. He paused in front of the ship and said, "Excuse me?" Kaylee continued on. "You like ships. You don't seem to be looking at the destinations. What you care about is the ships, and mine's the nicest." She jerked her thumb backwards pointing at the ship behind her.

"She don't look like much," the old man countered, smirking as he said it.

"Oh she'll fool ya," Kaylee countered back, "You ever sail in a Firefly?"

"Long before you were crawling," he answered, then took a closer look at the ship, "Not an aught three, though. Didn't have the extenders, tended to shake a bit."

Kaylee rose from her chair again and approached the man.

"So, how come you don't care where you're going?"

The man replied, "Because how you get there is the worthier part."

"Are you a missionary"

"I guess… I'm a Shepherd, from the Southdown Abbey." Audrena was surprised at this. Based on his knowledge of ships, she assumed he was a traveler of sorts. "Book, I'm called Book. Been out of the world for a spell. Like to walk it awhile, maybe bring the word to those that need it told." Kaylee nodded then replied, "Well, I'm Kaylee and this here's Serenity and she's the smoothest ride from here to Boros for anyone who can pay." She paused for a bit, and then asked worriedly, "Can you pay, or…?"

Shepard Book moved towards his bag and said, "Well, I have a little cash," he paused, bringing out a small wooden box, "and this." He opened the box for Kaylee, who looked surprised at its contents. She looked back at him and said, "Ooh, grampa." Book's smile fell a bit as he said kindly, "I never married."

"Shiny! Well, let's get your things aboard. The captain should be back any moment." Shepard Book started his way up the ramp making his way inside. Kaylee stood on the top of the ramp, seemingly looking for something or somebody. Soon enough, the same middle aged man from before was walking towards the ship.

Kaylee saw him and greeted, "Ah, welcome aboard, Mr…"

"Dobson," the man grunted out, walking quickly up the ramp.

"…Dobson," Kaylee echoed, beckoning him in.

"Thank you," he said quickly

Audrena spotted a 'mule' slowly make its way to the ship. It had a few containers directly behind the seat and was hauling a large box on its trailer. She assumed that was the package that the young man brought with him. The man on the vehicle was a man that looked like he was in his early to mid thirties. He had red hair and blue eyes. He smiled and sent a wave at Kaylee as he made his way up the ramp.

As the vehicle made its way past, Audrena noticed that the young man from earlier was back, standing on the left edge of the ramp. He looked towards the man driving the vehicle and spoke. "Please be careful that." Kaylee cleared her throat, and said, "Simon, Audrena, this is our captain." Both Simon and Audrena looked over at the man that had suddenly appeared on the ramp. He was a stocky man of average height. He was wearing a brown coat over his red shirt and pale pants. His brown boots were well worn, but still good enough to wear.

"Mal," Kaylee continued, "this is Simon and Audrena, two of our new passengers." Simon paused for a minute then said, "Captain Reynolds," in a sign of recognition. Audrena waited for a moment and then said, "Pleasure to meet you," giving him a polite nod.

"Welcome aboard," the captain replied. "If you'll excuse me." He walked up the ramp and disappeared into the cargo bay. "Captain's not much for words," Kaylee said, trying to apologize for her captain's demeanor. "That's fine," Audrena replied, not really affected by the man's nature. She had met worse. Simon simply turned and made her way up the ramp. Audrena decided to head inside as well. It looked like they were leaving soon and she didn't want to get in the way.

Making her way into the cargo bay, she saw Captain Reynolds talking to a dark skinned woman in hushed voices. After a minute, the captain made his way up the stairs, disappearing into the upper decks. Audrena looked around at the other passengers that were traveling, wondering how much interaction she would have with them. She didn't want to reveal too much about her life, lest they go running to the authorities. Suddenly, a dull thump was heard on the left side of the ship. The passengers all looked up to see what the noise was. "Oh, don't mind that," Kaylee said. "That's just our ambassador arriving in her private shuttle." Everyone nodded in understanding, but was still a bit wary.

A minute later, the captain reappeared and yelled out to Kaylee, "Kaylee, I'm locking it up." Kaylee nodded and grabbed her things quickly and came inside the ship before the airlock closed. Once inside, Captain Reynolds locked up the airlock and told the pilot to take off. The ship lifted off, shuddering slightly.

 _All aboard,_ Audrena thought. _No turning back now._


	2. Chapter 2

**All characters are owned by Joss Whedon, except my OC**

 **Enjoy!**

 **XxXxXxX**

"If you'll follow me, guys, I'll show you to your rooms," Kaylee said walking towards the back hatch that Audrena had been through before. After a quick tour of the dormitory for those who hadn't seen it, Kaylee brought them all up to the dining area. Captain Reynolds and the dark skinned woman were standing against the kitchen counter, apparently waiting for the group to arrive. He began by formally introducing himself as Captain Malcolm Reynolds. He also introduced his first mate, Zoe Washburne.

"Meals are taken here in the dining area. Kitchen's pretty much self-explanatory. You're welcome to eat what there is anytime. What there is is pretty standard fare: protein in all the colors of the rainbow. We do have sit-down meals, the next one being at 1800 hours." The captain paused, allowing Kaylee to chime in. "I believe Shepherd Book and Audrena have offered to help me prepare something," smiling at both of them. Captain Reynolds looked at Shepherd Book in surprise.

"You're a Shepherd?"

"I thought the outfit gave it away," Book replied, humor in his voice. He looked more serious when he didn't really get the reaction he was going for. "Is it a problem?"

"Of course not," Kaylee spoke up again. "It's not a problem 'cause it's not…"

"No," the captain said, turning his focus back on the rest of them. "As I said, you're welcome to visit the dining area anytime. Apart from that, I have to ask you to stay in the passenger dorm while we're in the air. The bridge, engine room, cargo bay, they're all off-limits without an escort." Simon spoke up at this point. "Some of my personal effects are in the cargo bay."

"I figure you all got luggage you're gonna need," Captain Reynolds replied. "Soon as we're done here, we'll be happy to fetch 'em with you." He then, moved off his position on the counter and made his way towards the group. Also, the pilot had just made his way from the cockpit and leaned back on the table next to him. "Now I have to tell you all one other thing and I apologize in advance for the inconvenience. Unfortunately, we've been ordered by the Alliance to drop some medical supplies off on Whitefall. It's the fourth moon on Athens. It's out of our way, but we should have you on Boros no more than a day off schedule."

Simon looked a bit interested at this. "What medical supplies?"

Captain Reynolds looked squarely at him and said, "I honestly didn't ask."

At this point, Zoe cut in. "Probably plasma, insulin, whatever they ain't got enough of on the border moons." The captain jumped back in and said, "Alliance says jump—"

"All right," Simon replied, seemingly done with the topic. Captain Reynolds asked Zoe to take the passengers down to the hold. They made their way down and began to grab their things. Audrena unpacked her food and supplies that she had promised Kaylee. She made her way up the stairs to where she and the captain were standing. She handed over the goods, getting a wide, beaming smile from the young mechanic. "Look, Cap, she brought flour and sugar. Maybe we can finally bake something for after dinner," saying excitedly as she looked through the container holding the supplies. The captain smirked at the bubbly woman.

He then turned to Audrena. "We haven't seen supplies like that in nearly half a year. I bet you won't find that outside of a central Alliance planet. Where did you say you were from?"

"New Melbourne," Audrena replied quickly.

"Really?" the captain replied, somewhat surprised. He seemed like he was about to continue when Shepherd Book walked up the stairs and stopped in front of them. "Here you go, child," he said, handing over his supplies to Kaylee.

"Ah, the ambassador graces us with her presence," Captain Reynolds says, causing Audrena to follow his gaze. Her eyes met an elegant looking woman who was descending the stairs. She wore a simple but still very beautiful red dress. "Hello, Mal. I see we have some new faces," She responded, stopping at the landing where the group was currently standing.

"Ambassador, this is Audrena," Mal said, motioning to the young girl. They shook hands and the Ambassador gave Audrena a warm smile. "Charmed," Audrena said, returning the smile. She knew this woman was not an ambassador. _She almost looks like…_ "And this is Shepherd Book," the captain continued. The ambassador looked shocked. "I'd have to say this the first time we've had a preacher on board."

"Well I wasn't expecting to see a state official, either. Ambassador," Book responded, taking her hand and bowing slightly. Captain Reynolds let out a tiny snigger. The ambassador shot him a look. So did Kaylee. "I'm missing something funny," Book said, quite unsure of what's going on. "Not so funny," Kaylee said in a low voice, trying to keep the mood calm. Audrena was trying to hide the smile that was trying to appear across her face. The woman turned back to Shepherd.

"'Ambassador' is Mal's way of –"

"She's a whore, Shepherd," the captain cut in.

Shepherd Book was now completely shocked. The woman looked completely annoyed. _I knew it_ , Audrena thought, letting a slight smile go, despite this embarrassing moment. Kaylee jumped in again. "The term is 'Companion'." Obviously this was an old argument.

"Yeah, I always get those mixed up," Captain Reynolds said, faking an absent minded tone. He looked the Companion. "How's business?"

"None of yours," she retorted with a smile on her face.

Captain Reynolds turned back to Shepherd Book. "She is pretty much our ambassador. There're plenty of planets that won't even let you dock without a decent Companion on board." He paused, looking in between the two. "This…this isn't a problem for you, is it, Shepherd?" he finished with a smile. _I wonder how long he's waited for a moment like this_. The man seemed nonreligious if his attitude towards the Shepherd was any evidence.

"Well I…I certainly…" Shepherd Boom stammered.

The Companion turned to leave. "It's all right. I mostly keep to myself." When she passed Captain Reynolds, she added one more thing. "When I'm not busy whoring." She made her way up the stairs, Kaylee following her with the bags of supplies in her hands.

"Wait, I didn't catch your name," Audrena called out. The Companion turned to look at her. "It's Inara. Inara Serra." She turned back and continued to ascend the stairs.

"Don't you want to meet the rest of the bunch?" Captain Reynolds called out.

"Why don't you make sure they want to meet me first?" Inara called back, already heading back to her shuttle.

Audrena took that as a cue to leave. She descended the stairs to the base of the cargo hold. Picking up her packs, she walked to her assigned room. She was trying to decide how much she should unpack. She was likely only to be here for at most five days while they traveled to Boros. She supposed she could live out of her bags for the time being. She did however pull out her sword to make sure it had made the journey safely. Audrena pulled the blade out of its sheath, inspecting the edge of the blade as it slowly grew longer. Satisfied that there were no imperfections, she put the blade back in the sheath and placed it back in her bag.

She then brought out her shield, currently painted black and having nearly no reflection. She hefted it and strapped it to her left arm, making sure the grip was still correct. After fiddling with the band for a minute she got it the way she wanted. She also placed the shield back in her bag, not wanting anybody to see her weapons. She decided to go see in Kaylee was in the kitchen area yet.

She made her way through the ship and up towards the galley. She found Kaylee standing over a box, the same box that Shepherd Book offered her when they first met. "So, what's the mystery in that mystery box?" Audrena asked, walking up beside Kaylee. "Oh, you didn't see before? They're fresh strawberries!" Kaylee exclaimed, picking one up out of the box and holding it up to show Audrena. She then bit into it, her face melting into pleasure as she savored the bite. She covered the box with the lid and put it in a cabinet for safe keeping.

At that point, Shepherd Book walked into the dining hall. Kaylee noticed his arrival and beamed. "Shepherd, good, you're here. We were just about to start." She turned to Audrena. "Since you said you enjoyed cooking, did you want to lead?" Audrena was surprised at this. She really wasn't expecting it. "Um, sure," she replied, "but you'll have to help me out with this kitchen. I'm not exactly familiar with it." "Of course," Kaylee said with a smile, "just tell me what you need." "I'll try to help you as best I can," Book added, removing his coat. Audrena did the same thing with her own. "So first we need…"

 **XxXxXxX**

"You guys, this food looks amazing," Zoe complimented, filling up a plate. "Thank Audrena, she was the one who did most of the work," Kaylee said, gesturing to the now blushing Audrena. "You and Shepherd Book did your fair share," she commented. "Oh please. I think, and I'm sure Shepherd Book would agree, either of us would be completely lost," Kaylee countered, looking to Book for confirmation. Shepherd nodded in agreement. Audrena glanced back to the spot Zoe was standing to thank her, only to find her missing. "Where did Zoe—"

"Oh, she went up to the cockpit to bring a plate for Wash," the captain said, interrupting her before she could finish. "No reason for him to miss out on this fine looking meal." Sure enough, Zoe returned, her hands empty. She took her place at the table, left of the captain, who was sitting at the head of the table.

They were about to dig in when Shepherd Book spoke up. "Captain, do you mind if I say grace?" Audrena glanced at Captain Reynolds, who had paused, his chopsticks full of mashed potatoes halfway to his mouth.

"Only if you say it out loud," he replied. Audrena glanced at the Shepherd this time, looking thoroughly uncomfortable. _Well, that ruined the mood a bit_ , Audrena thought to herself. She closed her eyes and said a silent prayer, praying for good fortune. She tried to ignore the captain's chewing. She opened her eyes and picked up her chopsticks.

"So does this happen a lot?" Simon asked. "Government commandeering your ship, telling you where to go?"

"That's what governments are for: get in a man's way." Captain Reynolds replied. _Or send her to commit atrocities in the name of peace_ , Audrena thought bitterly, spearing a tomato slice.

"Well, it's good, if the supplies are needed," Dobson put in. "We're just happy to be doing good works," Jayne commented. Audrena had met him during the cooking. He had tried to sneak an early bite and Kaylee had whacked his hand with a wooden spoon.

"I hear a lot of the border moons are in bad shape. Plagues, and famine…" Dobson said again. This time, Zoe spoke up. "Well, some of that's exaggerated and some of it ain't. All of those moons, just like the central planets, they're as close to Earth-That-Was as we could make 'em: gravity, atmosphere, and such, but…"

"Once they're terraformed, they'll dump settlers on there with nothing with blankets, hatchets, maybe a herd. Some of them make it, some of them…" Captain Reynolds trailed off, completing Zoe's statement.

"Then I guess it's good we're helping." Simon commented.

"So, you're a doctor, right?" Kaylee asked, looking at Simon.

"Oh, uh, yes. Yes, I was a trauma surgeon on Osiris. In Capital City." Simon responded, looking a bit uncomfortable.

"Long way from here." Mal said. This made Simon look more uncomfortable.

"You seem so young. To be a doctor." Kaylee continued, obviously impressed.

"Yeah," the young doctor paused. Changing the subject, he said, "You're pretty young to be a ship's mechanic."

"Know how. Machines just got workings, and they just talk to me." Kaylee said, downplaying the compliment from Simon.

"Kaylee, from the way you talk about engines, it's obvious your skill is highly extraordinary," Audrena commented, Shepherd Book humming in agreement. The three of them had a fifteen minute conversation during the preparation of the meal on the topic of ship and ship engines. Audrena learned a lot in that short while.

"Oh, not like being a doctor. Helping _fix_ people, that's important." Kaylee said.

"Little Kaylee here just wishes you was a gynecologist," Jayne said, finishing with a cackle.

"Jayne. You will keep a civil tongue in that mouth or I will sew it shut. Is there an understanding between us?" Captain Reynolds barked, Jayne looked a bit surprised but recovered quickly. "You don't pay me to talk pretty. Just because Kaylee gets lubed-up from some big city dandy—"

"Walk away from this table," the captain said, still in a hard tone. "Right now."

The table was quiet as Jayne stuck some more food on his plate and left, stomping off the crew dormitory. Audrena noticed that Kaylee was trying not to look up from her plate. Finally, Simon asked, "What do you pay him for?" Captain Reynolds froze again this time with a tomato slice halfway to his mouth. "What?" he answered intelligently. "I was just wondering what his job was. On the ship, I mean."

"Public relations," answered Captain Reynolds. He returned to his food. The rest of dinner was relatively quiet, with people finishing what was on their plates. As dinner finished up, people brought their plates to the sink to be washed. Simon and Dobson excused themselves and headed back to their rooms. Zoe thanked Audrena, Kaylee and Shepherd Book for a wonderful meal. She then made her way up to the front of the ship, towards the cockpit. Kaylee and Shepherd Book were still clearing the serving dishes and left over cutlery from the table and Audrena was washing the plates. The captain was still sitting at the table, picking at a piece of his dinner that was stuck in his teeth.

"Well, that was a fine meal. Haven't eaten that well in a long time. Audrena." She stopped what she was doing at the sink and looked at him. "Thank you kindly for preparing the meal for us." Captain Reynolds said, smiling as he finished. "Well, I can't take all the credit, captain. Kaylee and the shepherd helped out as well," she said, gesturing to the two.

"Oh, no you don't," Kaylee said, turning her head to look at Captain Reynolds. "Mal, you shoulda' seen her. She was a pro, telling us what needed to be done, how long to cook everything. It was like learning from the best chefs on Londinium." Audrena blushed at this. She really wasn't used to hearing compliments. "It was nothing," she said, continuing to clean the plates in the sink. "You know," the captain said slowly, "Someone ought to take a plate up to Inara's shuttle. She might enjoy a meal like this as well. Shepherd, could you take it up for her?" Audrena glanced at the captain again as he said this. He had a smirk on his face. Shepherd Book looked a little uncomfortable, but nodded.

He filled a plate with food and took it away on a tray. Audrena finished cleaning up the plates while Kaylee had a quiet conversation with Captain Reynolds. Audrena didn't catch the whole thing but heard snippets like "Inara" and "embarrass him". She finished drying the dishes, and was just beginning to put them away when the captain stepped out of the dining area, making his way towards the front of the ship. Kaylee shook her head and headed back to the kitchen area to help finish cleaning up. They put away the last of the dishes.

"That should be all," Kaylee announced. "Thanks again, Audrena. You were amazing."

"Like I said before," Audrena replied, "it's nothing."

"Well, I'd love to see what something is," Kaylee said. "I need to get back to the engine room, check in on the old girl. Do you need anything else?" Audrena shook her head no. "I think I'm just going to go back to the passenger dorm and read for a little bit." Kaylee nodded and walked off towards the aft, making her way to the engine room. Audrena descended the stairs that led down to the dormitory. She walked to her room and pulled her tablet device out of her bag. She returned to the lounge and took a seat on the couch. She turned it on and checked her messages. After that she browsed through her list of books. She selected an old novel from Earth-That-Was, one of her favorites, _Cloud Atlas_.

About ten minutes in, while she was trying to load a page when she noticed the device had disconnected from the cortex. She let out a sigh and stared at the tablet in frustration. She kept hitting the reconnect button, hoping for a new connection. She even switched off her device and turned it back on, but to no avail. She heard footsteps and looked up to see Simon walking by her, heading towards the cargo bay. He seemed to be in a rush, not even sparing a glance at her. About a minute later, Dobson exited his room, heading up the stairs towards the dining area. He hadn't noticed her either. Audrena thought nothing of it, until she spotted the handle of a handgun peeking above the waistline of his pants.

That caught her attention.

She quickly stood up and went to Dobson's room. She looked inside to find a device on his bed. She picked it up off the bed. The screen was flashing displaying a message.

 **INTERFERENCE:**

 **UNABLE TO CONNECT**

 **TO CENTRAL CORTEX**

 _The Central Cortex? But that's only for…_ Audrena's eyes widened and she dropped the device. The central cortex was only Alliance officials. She left the room and quietly made her way upstairs, following Dobson. _He's an Alliance agent. But who is he here for,_ she thought, her mind racing. She turned the corner and stared down the hallway, just catching sight of Dobson turning down the passage towards the walkways in the cargo bay.

 _He's not looking to commandeer the ship otherwise he would have headed straight for the bridge._ Audrena continued to race through possibilities in her mind. She made her way down the hallway, silently crossing the dining area and looked to her right. The passage was clear. She quickly made her way to the stairs that would make her way to the cargo bay. She thought about warning someone on the crew, but that would take too much time. She made her way down the stairs. She saw Dobson slowly make his way to the back of the gangway, stopping at the stairs and looking down at someone. Audrena followed his gaze and found Simon. He was currently squatting in front of the box he brought on board.

 _He's the target? What possible reason would an Alliance fed target a doctor?_ She then noticed the captain make his way into the cargo bay. He went unnoticed by Simon, but Dobson crouched from his position and watched him carefully. Simon stood up and turned to go back to the dormitory area. It was then that he spotted the captain. Captain Reynolds said something to Simon that Audrena couldn't quite catch. Then he suddenly slugged the doctor in the face, sending him to the ground sprawling.

"Are you out of your mind?" Simon shouted, standing up and clutching his face. Captain Reynolds responded, but again, Audrena couldn't quite hear. She saw that Dobson was making his way down the stairs as slowly as he could. When he reached the middle landing, Audrena decided to move up her position as well. She could hear a little better when she reached the top of the stairs. Captain Reynolds now had a gun to Simon's face.

"I have exactly no time for games. What do they know?" Captain Reynolds demanded.

"You're a lunatic!" Simon cried out.

"And you're a gorram fed!" Captain Reynolds responded.

"Hate to say it, Captain, but you've got the wrong man," another voice said. Audrena peered over the edge of the walkway to see Shepherd Book standing there near the front staircase. She hadn't even seen or heard him. Shepherd Book was looking at the stairs in front of him and next to Captain Reynolds and Simon. They noticed the shepherd's gaze and turned to see Dobson standing there with his handgun pointing at all three of them.

"Son of a bitch." Captain Reynolds groaned.

"Drop that firearm, Captain Reynolds," Dobson declared. Captain Reynolds does as he says.

"This is not my best day ever," the captain muttered to himself. Dobson moved his gun and pointed it at the doctor.

"Simon Tam, you are bound by law to stand down." Simon put his hands up.

"What? The doctor?" Captain Reynolds asked when he realized the gun wasn't on him anymore. "Oh," he proceeded to put his hands down. "Hey! Is there - is there a reward?"

Dobson was now ignoring him, still training his gun on Simon. "Get on the ground." Simon made no move. "Get on the ground!" Dobson repeated, a little louder this time.

"Lawman, you are making a mistake," Simon said, trying to reason with the man.

"I think you best get on the ground, son," Captain Reynolds put in. "The man seems a mite twitchy."

"I think everyone could stand to calm down a bit," Shepherd Book calmly said, slowly moving towards Dobson.

Audrena was trying to think of what to do. Normally, she would have her equipment with her to help in a situation like this. She contemplated rushing back to her room to grab her knife that she left in her bag. The conversation kept going.

"This isn't your business, Shepherd," Dobson said sternly.

"The boy's not going anywhere, lawman," Shepherd Book replied, his voice even. "As I understand it, it's pretty cold outside." He motioned towards the cargo bay door.

"Not to worry," Captain Reynolds said casually, crouching for his dropped gun. "Put Lord Fauntleroy here in a passenger cell. Won't make a peep 'til you hand him over—" He almost reached his gun, when Dobson turned the pistol back on Captain Reynolds.

"Get the _hell_ away from that weapon!" Dobson spat. "You think I'm a complete backbirth? You're carrying a fugitive across interplanetary borders, and you think I actually _believe_ that you're bringing medical supplies to Whitefall? As far as I care, everyone on this ship is culpable.

Silence, then, "Well, now. That has an effect on the landscape," Captain Reynolds said very quietly, standing back up to an upright position.

"Please, we're very close to true stupidity here," Shepherd Book commented, trying to keep everyone calm.

"I've got a cruiser en route for intercept, so talk all you want. You got about twenty minutes," Dobson said, shifting his position.

"Might have less than that."

"Yeah, threaten me," Dobson said snidely. Shepherd Book kept moving towards Dobson. "For God's sake—"

"You don't think I'll shoot a Shepherd? Back off!" Dobson threatened, pulling back the hammer of his weapon. Captain Reynolds grabbed the doctor.

"Just take the kid."

"Get your hands off me," Simon demanded, struggling in the captain's grip.

"Stand the hell down!" ordered Dobson. Audrena could hear loud footsteps coming from behind her, from the stairwell that led to the infirmary. That had to be Kaylee. _She must have heard the shouting from the engine room_. She had to warn her. Audrena proceeded to sprint down the stairs and jump off the landing. Kaylee appeared in the doorway. "Why's everybody –"

A shot rang out. Audrena felt a pain rip through her body. She fell to her knees and clutched her side. She pulled her hand away to find it covered in blood. She heard a fist making impact and a loud clattering sound. Someone knelt at her side.

"How do you feel?" It was Simon.

"Like I've been shot." She responded. She heard Jayne and Shepherd Book arguing, but couldn't really pay attention to what was going on.

"How are your legs?" the doctor asked.

"I think I can walk, if that's what you're asking." She shut her eyes and grit her teeth as the pain kept climbing. The shouting in the background was getting fainter and fainter as her heart pounded in her ears. _This is not good. I'm losing a lot of blood._

"Good, we need to get you moving," said Simon. "I saw that there was an infirmary. Is it working?"

"Yeah, it's stocked but—" Captain Reynolds informed, but was cut off from saying anything more when the intercom came to life. "Captain, we've been hailed by a cruiser. Ordered to stay on course and dock for prisoner transfer."

Audrena's eyes shot open. She almost forgot in all the commotion that Simon was still a wanted fugitive. She looked at him. He looked scared and unsure of what to do. He stood up, and stepped away from Audrena. "Change course. Run."

"Hell with you," said an incredulous voice from next her. It was the captain. "You brought this down on us. I'm dumping you with the law."

"She's dying," Simon said desperately.

"You're not gonna let her."

"Yes, I am."

"No, you can't."

Audrena's head was starting to feel extremely heavy and her vision was starting to lose focus.

"No way the feds'll let us walk," She heard Zoe say.

"Then we dump him in a shuttle and leave him," Captain Reynolds said.

She felt herself swaying gently back and forth, her body struggling to keep her up.

"Guys, we have to do something. She's fading real fast," a feminine voice Audrena recognized as Kaylee's. She must be close by. Audrena's body gave out and she slid to the left. She felt her body fall in slow motion. Her head slammed against the cargo room floor. She heard Kaylee scream her name. The conversation was starting to drift in and out.

"…you…any idea…stomach…in the next…utes?"

Flashes of memories danced before her eyes.

 _A young girl staring up at her._

"…you let her…make it…feds."

 _Her first kill, watching the life slowly leave the man's eyes as tears filled her own._

"…still be dead."

 _Training with her instructor as she blocked and countered his practice blade._

"…think…lives are… only thing…matters."

 _Practicing for 24 hours straight with twenty other recruits._

"…you do…your folks…ily fortune?"

 _She was being dropped off with tears in her eyes, crying for her parents._

"…don't kill people!"

"…do your job!"

 _Audrena was staring out the window towards the stars. She'd never seen so many in her life._

"Help me…please," She whispered out. Then she knew no more.


	3. Chapter 3

**Welcome back to another chapter of 'The Young Knight'.**

 **Sorry, it's been a while. I fell of the story for a bit and real life decided to get in my way for a while. Anyway, I'm back with two new chapters and my sincere promise to keep posting chapters more often than every couple of months.**

 **As always, I do not own the amazing characters of Firefly, Joss Whedon does.**

 **Enjoy!**

 **XxXxXxX**

Pain was the first thing she felt when Audrena woke up. Pain was good. It meant she was still alive. _If you feel pain, you can still fight_ , a voice echoed in her head. She couldn't remember which of her drill instructors had shouted that, but they had done so nearly everyday. She tried to open her eyes, but saw only blurry, fuzzy objects. She grunted and tried to pick her head up. Pain ripped through her skull when she did, so she quickly lay her head back down on the table.

Wait, a table?

Where was she?

She opened her eyes, more letting them get used to the lack of light in the room. A few more things came into focus. She was in the infirmary. She was trying to remember what for when it all came rushing back to her.

Everybody shouting. Simon being revealed as a fugitive. Kaylee coming up the back stairs.

The gunshot.

Immediately, she clutched at her side, feeling the fabric of the shirt touch her skin. She tried to sit up again, this time the pain in her head just a dull throbbing. Slowly rising to a seated position, she took a look at her abdomen. Pulling her shirt up, it revealed nothing. So the bullet hadn't gone through her, which meant that wound must be somewhere on her lower back. She was about to look for a mirror to see if she could access the amount of damage done. Considering that she could still feel her extremities, it hadn't hit her spinal column, which made her extremely lucky.

"Oh thank goodness you're awake," Audrena heard. She turned her head to the right to see Kaylee standing there, giving her a relieved look. It immediately morphed into a more anxious one.

"Are you okay?" Kaylee asked, wringing her hands.

"Just some dull throbbing, mostly in my head." Audrena answered.

"Yeah, well, you went down pretty hard and smacked your head on the ground." Kaylee started to pace to the door and back to the table.

"I, well, we were so worried. Everything just happened so fast. One second I was walking through the doorway and the next you were kneeling in front of me, holding your side. And then the Alliance was trying to hail us and Simon said he wouldn't save you if we turned him in. The captain was so mad, madder than I've ever seen him in a while. Everyone was shouting and you were just lying there, bleeding."

She was pacing up and down the infirmary, her anxious ramblings picking up speed.

"Why did you do that-"

"Kaylee," Audrena said, trying to slow the mechanic down.

"-not that I don't appreciate it-" Kaylee just kept going

"Kaylee," Audrena said, this time a little louder.

"-you barely know me. I know the captain would or Zoe or maybe Jayne-"

"Kaylee!"

"-you've only been here one day and you're already hurt-" She was turning hysterical.

"KAYLEE!"

Kaylee froze and looked at her, not sure what to do.

"Kaylee," Audrena started calmly, "It's fine. I'm fine. Simon fixed me up real well by the looks of it. So, it's not your fault. Not anyone's fault. Except for maybe Dobson's."

Kaylee nodded in understanding, but still looked a bit guilty. She leaned back on the counter behind her and let out a sigh. Audrena heard some shifting coming from her left. She looked over and saw something that she hadn't expected.

It was a girl. A girl with straight brown hair that was currently wet, like she had just gotten out of a shower. Her eyes were closed and she was fast asleep, breathing rhythmically. She had a small nose and a small mouth. Her face, almost a perfect oval, looked to be calm.

"Kaylee, who is this?"

"Oh, that's Simon's sister, River," Kaylee responded.

Audrena's vision shot back over to Kaylee.

"Sister? Since when did she get on board?"

"I'm not sure how much I should say. Not really my story to tell," Kaylee said hesitantly. She looked like she had a thought. "I should probably let the captain know you're awake. He probably wants to talk to you about what happened." She left the infirmary, disappearing from view as she went up the stairs. Audrena swung her legs over the side of the table and tried to reach a full sitting position. She looked at the sleeping girl again.

The girl was shivering a bit, and Audrena herself noticed it was a bit cold in the room. She tried looking around for another blanket and found one nearby. She got up slowly as to not fall over. She made her way over to the blanket slowly, making sure that she didn't strain herself or her wound. She grabbed it and draped it over the girl. River shifted in her sleep some more and rolled, lying on her back. She made a small noise, almost like a mumble.

"Look who's up and about." A voice met Audrena's ears. She turned to see the captain standing in the doorway, his face even.

"Simon's sister was shivering so I grabbed another blanket for her." She didn't know why but she felt like she was being judged. "Captain, what happened to Simon, if you don't mind me asking?"

"He's still here on the ship, along with his sister as you can see."

"Where'd she come from?"

"That crate that the doctor brought on board was apparently a sleep pod of some sort. According to him, he rescued her from secret Alliance program." Captain Reynolds glanced at the immobile girl. "When she woke up, she was scared and screaming. Nearly scared me half to hell."

He shook his head quickly, appearing as if to clear his head of the memory. He looked back at Audrena. "Sorry that you got caught up in all this. It's not my normal motive to bring aboard fugitives and government agents."

 _What does that make me?_ Audrena thought with a bitter tone in her head.

"Still, it seems I owe you a thank you." Audrena tried to stop him, but Captain Reynolds continued. "You protected little Kaylee and I'm mighty grateful to you for that." Audrena didn't know what to say. "As it stands, you're probably not going to be able to do anything strenuous for at least a couple of weeks. So if you'd like, once you're healed up, we'll take you anywhere you want to go."

Audrena was gob smacked at this. She could disappear to anywhere she wanted to go. She didn't have to risk herself being caught on Boros by the Alliance. She smiled for a moment at this new set of circumstances. She tried to think of where she wanted to go, but she wasn't coming up without any immediate options. Nothing sounded appealing to her.

"You don't have to make your decision now. Like you said, you have a little time." Audrena nodded. "Well, I just wanted to check in on you, make sure you were okay. I'll send the doctor in to check on you in a bit." Audrena nodded again in understanding. She heard the fading footsteps of the captain and let out a sigh. What was she going do? She began thinking over her options again. She thought of going to New Melbourne, but quickly pushed that thought out of her head.

She had no one to see there and no one wanted to see her.

Haven was a good option. It was a mining moon that orbited Deadwood and Alliance marked it as a hotspot for outlaws and fugitives to settle down. Deadwood wasn't a bad spot either. It was fairly out of the way, located on the farthest star out from the system. Lilac was a good option as well but it had a small Alliance presence. Maybe it was enough to disappear. She continued to consider more and more options, but found that she couldn't settle on one.

 _I have time. Maybe I should sleep on it, let my head tell me where to go._

"Keep floating," a tiny voice said, breaking Audrena from her thoughts. She turned and looked at River. She was still lying there with her eyes closed. "What?" Audrena asked, not exactly sure if Simon's sister was talking to her or talking in her sleep. "Running from the blue, just like me." Audrena tensed up a bit hearing this. "Blue shadows that will search for her in the night."

"How do you—"

"Don't worry. You're in an ocean. Just keep floating along." She went silent after that.

"Amazing," a new voice said, making Audrena tear her eyes away from the enigmatic girl. Simon was standing in the doorway now. From the astonished look on his face, she guessed that he had heard part of or all of the conversation that had happened between Audrena and his sister.

"What is?" Audrena inquired, not exactly sure if Simon would understand what his sister had just said.

"I was told that River might not be able to communicate well with others after her… ordeal."

"Do you know what she's been through yet?"

"No, I don't know yet. All I saw was when I first freed her. She was in a room, sitting in a chair with needles in her skull. They were testing her memory elasticity." River started to fidget a bit. It seemed like she had gone back to sleep, but maybe could still hear the conversation going on. Simon went to her side to try to calm her down.

"The organization that helped warned me that she might not be able to effectively communicate. So far she's only talked to you and me." He pulled some hair that was covering her face and brushed it behind her ear. He turned back to Audrena.

"So how are you feeling?"

"I'm feeling pretty well, all things considered," Audrena answered. "The only real pain I have is the dull ache I have in my head."

"You did hit your head pretty hard," Simon commented, moving over to Audrena's left side. He appeared to be taking a look at her head. "I had to shave some of your hair off so I could see the wound better. I hope you don't mind." Audrena shook her head.

He backed up from the table and went to retrieve some gloves. "The good news is that the bullet didn't hit your spinal column, but it went very deep, almost reaching your right kidney." He turned back and approached the table. "Could you sit down on the table please?" Audrena complied. The doctor came around behind her, and began to lift the back of her shirt.

"It hit a major artery. That's why you were bleeding so much. It did take a while to stem the bleeding, but once I did that, I was able to retrieve the bullet." Audrena felt the cloth and tape peeling off of her back. "But…that can't be right," she heard the doctor mutter. "Something wrong, doc?"

"It's your wound. It's…" He trailed off, pulling the tape and gauze completely off.

"Is it infected?" It didn't feel like it to her.

"It's healing. Really well. Too well. It looks like it's already two weeks old." Audrena closed her eyes and cursed quietly. She heard Simon come around to the side to check her head. "And your head wound. It's completely closed. The stitches are completely dissolved." She opened her eyes to see Simon stare at her in amazement and confusion. "It's amazing," he started, and then paused. "No, it's impossible. There's no way you could've healed that fast. Not unless…" He looked at her with some suspicion. "Genetic modifications?" Audrena sighed.

She was about to answer when more footsteps approached the infirmary. "Thank God you're okay." It was Shepherd Book. She sent Simon a look, one saying that she'd explain later. Simon nodded, still with a suspicious look on his face. He backed away and went over to his sister's side. She looked back at Shepherd Book and said, "Yep, almost completely fine."

"You were gone a good while. Had us all a mite concerned." Shepherd Book walked towards the table. "That was a very brave thing you did."

"It was nothing," Audrena responded. Shepherd Book shook his head.

"Taking a bullet for a person you had just met that day? That's not nothing."

"Seemed like the right thing to do. Just a reaction really." Shepherd Book put a hand on her shoulder. "The right thing to do isn't the easiest thing to realize sometimes." Audrena nodded. It was one lesson that she had instilled into her way of life long ago.

"What happened to Dobson?" Audrena had forgotten to ask the captain about the undercover lawman. Shepherd Book straightened up a bit. "The captain has him tied up in his room."

"What's going to happen to him?" Simon asked, turning his attention away from his sister for the moment. "Well, I haven't talked to the captain about it yet, but I can't imagine he'd be okay with keeping him for long, what with almost shooting a member of the crew," Shepherd replied, shooting Audrena a glance. "For now, I'm sure he's content with giving him a scare," he finished with a frown on his face.

"You don't approve?" It came out as a statement more than a question. "There are always better ways of getting information than threatening torture and pain," Shepherd Book stated with a stern voice. Audrena decided not to speak up on the matter.

"I wonder what will happen to us," Simon voiced.

"Well, since you able to save Audrena like you said you would, he might just leave you in a more settled part of Whitefall so you can look for alternate transport," Shepherd Book commented.

"Better than leaving us on Boros," Simon said resignedly. "I'm sure a warrant has been given to every outpost in the sector." Just then, the intercom came to life with the captains voice.

"This is the captain. We're passing another ship. Looks to be Reavers. From the size, probably a raiding party." Audrena's blood ran cold at the announcement.

Reavers were the boogeymen of space. They were said to be men that went crazy at the edge of the 'verse. Most of what people knew came from stories that were passed through whispers and campfires, stories of slaughtered settlements and ravaged colonies. The captain continued with his announcement.

"Could be they're headed somewhere in particular. Could be they already hit someone and they're full up. So everyone stay calm. We try to run, they'll have to chase us. It's their way. We're holding course. We should be passing them in a minute. So we'll see what they do." A pause. "Zoe, you come on up to the bridge."

Out of the window of the infirmary, Audrena saw Zoe pass by, heading up the stairs towards the upper deck. Simon quickly left the room.

"As if this day couldn't get any worse," Audrena grumbled. Mostly, Reavers stayed in their own sector of space. Most people in the central planets didn't even think they existed. She knew better though. Simon walked back into the infirmary, his face extremely pale.

"Simon?" Audrena asked, trying to snap him out of his blank gaze.

"I…I always thought they were stories. You know, ones parents told you so you'd do your chores or…or go to bed on time." He took a seat and put his head in his hands. "I didn't know…"

"Didn't know or didn't want to know?" Audrena asked. Simon looked up giving her the same blank look. _He's really not having a good day. Alliance finds out where he is before he has a chance to disappear and one of worst childhood nightmares just became reality._ The infirmary was quiet for a couple of minutes before the captain came on the loud speaker again, announcing they were clear of the Reavers. There was a collective sigh of relief in the room.

"What about you, Shepherd? Have you seen any Reavers in your days?" Audrena asked, still curious about the shepherd's past.

"Thankfully, no," he responded. Audrena noticed that he gripped his book a little more tightly as he said that. "But I've seen the aftermath of a couple of their raids. Planet officials often call on a preacher when one of their townships gets hit. We give the people some peace." He had a sad look on his face as he said this.

"I'm sorry, Shepherd, if this is bringing up painful memories."

"Don't worry, child. It's not often that I do think about those times, but it's important to reflect sometimes. Makes you realize what's important in life."

Audrena nodded. She had more than her fair share of those moments. She turned her attention back to the doctor who was still tending to his sister. "So, how soon do you think I'll be able to return to my room?" Simon turned towards her and gave her a measuring look. "Well, based on your rather…rapid recovery, I'd say you could return to your room now."

"Great. Thanks, doc." Audrena said, sliding off the table onto her feet.

"Though I do recommend you come and find me before you go to sleep, so I can check the wound one last time." As he finished, Audrena noticed that he was giving her a now rather pointed look. _He wants an explanation._ She nodded in understanding. "Will do." She gave Shepherd Book a small nod as she passed him, leaving the infirmary. Her back felt a bit tight as she walked, but she supposed that was to be expected. She made her way to her room, shutting the door behind her. She let out a deep sigh.

She didn't what she was going to do, where she was going to go, and Simon had discovered that she had genetic modifications. She had almost completely forgotten about those. It was so long ago when she had gotten the injections. The improved reflexes and enhanced healing had just become a part of her, something that she didn't think about. That was one of the first things that _they_ did to her. She lay out on her bed, staring up at the ceiling. She usually didn't allow herself to get in this situation. She was supposed to be better than this.

One of the other traits _they_ had instilled in her. _I guess they just didn't imagine coming out in this way._ In the grand scheme of things, Audrena conceded that things could be worse off. She could have been discovered like Simon and his sister. She could have been hit in the spinal column and been paralyzed.

She could have been killed. It was easily a possibility with the amount of blood she was losing at the time. Audrena shook the thoughts from her head. She was trying not to focus on what nearly happened. She still needed to figure out where she was going to go. Her stomach grumbled a bit, stating its intention. _I guess for now I'm headed to the dining area._

She got up and left her room. She climbed the stairs towards the kitchen, noticing that the captain was standing next to the sleeping River. She made her way into the aft hallway and headed towards the dining area. As she stepped down the short flight of stairs, she wondered what the captain was doing, checking in on Simon's sister. She entered the kitchen space, looking for a small pan to cook in. She went into the pantry, pulling out a few of the sausages and a couple of peppers that were in the refrigeration unit. She went back into the kitchen and turned on the stove, placing the pan on top.

She grabbed a knife and began to chop up the peppers, slicing them neatly into thin strips. While she was doing this, her thoughts went back to the captain and River. Hopefully, he really wouldn't dump them. From how Simon described it, he needed to figure out the extent of the damage that the Alliance had done to her. Sticking needles in her head did not sound like anything humane, as far as Audrena thought about it. She wiped off the excess pepper from the knife and placed it the sink to be washed later.

The pan had sufficiently warmed up by now, and Audrena looked for some sort of oil or spray to cover the pan with. Finding a small bottle of vegetable oil, Audrena supposed that would have to do. She placed a small portion of oil on the pan. She picked up the pan and tilted it left and right, letting the oil spread around the edges. She put the pan back down and placed the sausages carefully on the sizzling surface.

Once she decided that one side was cooked enough, she flipped them using a pair of chopsticks that she found. She threw the peppers in to pan and stirred them around a bit, letting the flavor melt in with the sausages. She also mixed in some of the spices that Shepherd Book had brought on.

After about ten minutes of occasionally stirring and flipping of sausages, she turned off the stove and placed the pan on an unheated element. She pulled out a plate and poured the contents of the pan onto it. Putting the plate to the side, she turned her attention to the now soiled pan. She ran water over it, scrubbing to get the grease out. Afterwards she placed it on the drying rack, along with the cleaned knife. She grabbed the pair of chopsticks and her plate and went to go sit at the table.

Midway through her meal, she heard footsteps coming up from the back hall. A few seconds later, Captain Reynolds appeared. He strode through the dining area on his way towards the front of the ship. He gave Audrena a polite smile as he passed, but didn't say anything. A few moments later and he disappeared from view. _I wonder what he's in a hurry for._ She turned her attention back to the meal. A minute or two later, she heard uproarious laughter coming from the bridge. She also heard more footsteps, more heavy and frantic this time, coming up from the aft hallway.

Simon appeared, looking extremely panicked. He stopped when he saw Audrena. Audrena had her mouth full of food and decided to wave at him. He sent a weak wave back. Then he looked towards the front of the ship and muttered something. Audrena swallowed her food. "Everything alright, doc?"

"Yeah," he said with a slight pant. "Just a…false alarm." He turned and left the way he came, his footsteps slowly fading. Audrena finished up her meal and walked to the kitchen. As she was cleaning her dish, she heard a loud clattering sound echoing down the hallway. Again it came from the front hallway. She placed the dish on the drying rack and decided to see what was going on. She knew she wasn't supposed to be up there, but someone might be hurt. She doubted they were fighting as she wasn't really hearing shouting.

She made her way up the hallway, noticing the hatches to the left and right of her. _They must be crew quarters._ On the hatch door closest to the bridge was a sign that read "Kaylee's Room" in large, swirling colorful letters. She smiled at the sign's ability to portray the young mechanics bright mood and personality. She heard a voice coming from the bridge and stopped.

"You depend on luck, you end up on the drift: no fuel, no prospects, begging for Alliance make-work. And towed out to the scrap belt. That ain't us. Not ever." It was the captain. "Patience has the money to pay, and she will, one way or another. There's obstacles in our path and we're gonna to deal with them. One by one." A pause. "We'll get through this. We will."

Audrena slowly backed away from the stairs and moved towards the dining area again. What he had said made her think they weren't actually dropping off medical supplies, just like Dobson had accused. It sounded like they were doing a deal. If the Alliance had actually sent them to drop off supplies, they wouldn't have to worry about payment. She didn't think they were doing anything illegal, due to the fact that the captain was willing to drop Simon off with the Alliance earlier.

 _Could they be smugglers?_ Audrena thought. It wouldn't be a stretch. Smugglers liked to use Fireflies specifically for the little hidden compartments and caches. She paused on the top of the stairs that led down to the common area. In the end, it really didn't concern her. Whatever job they might or might not be pulling had no impact on her. If she needed to know, she was sure she would be informed. Passengers didn't really to be in the business of the crew.

She descended the stairs, looking into the infirmary again. This time, River was all by herself, but she was still sleeping. Whatever she had been through had made her exhausted. Audrena headed back to her room, looking to take a shower and change out of her clothes that she had been in much longer than she had intended. She grabbed a towel and some spare clothes and made her way to the shower room.

After a quick warm shower, in which she made sure that her wound stayed as dry and clean as possible, she donned her new clothes: a slightly worn pair of tan pants, a white undershirt and black long sleeved shirt that went over it. She was walking back to her room, when the floor shook suddenly, like they had made impact with something. She steadied herself, making sure not to drop anything. They must have landed.

 _A little warning would have been nice._

She went to her room and deposited her old clothes and towel on her bed. She heard the cargo bay door being opened. She walked up the short flight of stairs and saw that the captain, Zoe and Jayne were loading three crates onto the mule. She didn't remember seeing those crates in the hold before. Once they were done loading up, the captain and Zoe walked down the ramp, Jayne following behind on the mule.

She was considering walking out into the cargo bay, but thought better of it. She still wasn't supposed to go anywhere unsupervised. After they left, Audrena went back to her room and pulled out her tablet. She switched it on and let it load up for a minute. She went to the planet registry in her online encyclopedia and looked at her different options. There was nothing that jumped out at her as a good idea. Most had an Alliance presence of some sort. Only a small handful of planets were isolated enough not to be touched. However, she guessed that these planets may be lacking in some of the amenities she was used to having all her life

It might be good to lay low in a planet like that for a while, but forever?

She sighed and exited the registry. She took her tablet and went into the common area. She sat on the couch and opened up her library this time. Last time she tried to read, she had only made it a handful of pages. And then she'd been shot. She opened up _Cloud Atlas_ again and began reading. After a few minutes she heard a rumbling engine. She went up the steps again and saw Jayne riding in on the mule, but this time the crates were gone. He quickly parked and turned off the engine. He then made his way back out, the cargo bay door closing behind him.

Audrena went back to the couch, focusing her attention back on her tablet. She just hoped whatever they did, they didn't get hurt. She began reading again. She made it another five pages before she noticed Shepherd Book. He was walking down the stairs and seemed to be doing it as quietly as he could. He stopped when he saw Audrena looking at him.

"Going somewhere, Shepherd?" she asked.


	4. Chapter 4

**Here it is, the next chapter of 'The Young Knight'.**

 **As always, I do not own the ahhhmazing characters of Firefly, Joss Whedon does.**

 **Enjoy!**

XxXxXxX

"I was just, uh…going to grab my towel and…take a shower."

"And you needed to sneak carefully down the stairs to do so?"

"I didn't want to disturb you," he answered, shifting slightly on the stairs. Audrena narrowed her eyes. He was hiding something, judging by his slight fidgeting and his somewhat careful speech. She glanced at the door to where Dobson was tied up and then back at the shepherd.

"Wouldn't disturb me in the slightest. But that's not what you're actually doing, is it?" Audrena asked, hoping that Book would be forthcoming. Book hesitated and let out a sigh.

"I'm worried about the lawman and what the captain is going to do to him once this business is over. I was going to offer him my assistance. I'm not in the habit of letting an unarmed man be killed in cold blood." He stood straight as he said this.

"Shepherd, he was willing to shoot any of us back there in that cargo bay," Audrena said, pointing towards the door that led out to the bay. "You saw that as plainly as I. It's what he's trained to do."

 _It's what I was trained to do._

Book looked lost for a moment, not exactly sure what to say. He went over to the couch and sat down next to Audrena. He put his head in his hands. Audrena reached out and slowly put a hand on his back. She remembered her mom doing this for her back before… back before her life was altered. It was helpful and it usually made her feel better. Audrena hoped it would help the Shepherd. She felt him tense a bit, probably from the unexpected touch. She started to pull her hand away.

"It's okay," the shepherd said, pulling his head from his hands. She placed her hand back onto his back and began to rub it in a circle. The two of them sat in silence for a few minutes, just listening to the ambient noises that ship would make periodically. "I think I'll just bring him some food," Shepherd Book said, standing up from the couch. "He hasn't eaten in a while." He turned and looked down at Audrena.

"Thank you, child. It's been a while since anyone's done that for me."

"No problem, Shepherd," Audrena said smiling warmly at him.

He made his way up the stairs towards the upper deck and disappeared from view. Audrena turned back to her tablet and began to read. After about ten pages, she heard footsteps coming down. She looked up again to see Book carrying a tray of what appeared to be leftovers of the last meal. She watched as he made his way towards Dobson's room, and then returned to her tablet again. A moment later, she heard a large clattering sound, causing her to look up in surprise.

Shepherd Book was lying on the ground, unconscious, and Dobson was standing over him. Audrena immediately darted for to the infirmary wall, flattening up against it. After a few seconds, she took a quick look through the infirmary windows. Dobson was crouching next to the shepherd, looking towards the common area where Audrena just was.

She ducked her head back down, so as not to be seen. _He must be trying to get to River or Simon,_ she thought to herself. She didn't know where Simon was, but River was still in the infirmary sleeping. She slowly made her way to the door. She slid inside and closed the door behind her trying to find a lock. The lock appeared to be on the outside of the door, which was meant for safety.

Audrena heard shifting behind her and looked to see River sitting up, looking rather alert for a girl who had been sleeping for a long time. There was also a look of fear etched on her face.

"Simon…" she whispered. Audrena went over to her, trying to get her to keep quiet.

"River, I need you to stay here. I'm going to lock you in, okay?" River looked even more panicked at that. Audrena tried to placate the girl.

"There's a man looking for you, looking to take you away from your brother. I'm not going to let that happen to you." River's face relaxed a little. She seemed to understand what Audrena was telling her.

"But I need you stay quiet and hidden in here." River stared at her as if she was trying to figure something out. Finally she nodded, backing into a corner and sliding down to sit. She held her knees to her chest and continued to stare at Audrena.

"I'll be back. Don't worry." Audrena went to the door and opened it. She didn't hear anything so she exited the room, closing the door and locking it behind her.

She heard a rummaging sound coming from one of the other rooms. She walked to the edge of the wall where the stairs began when the rummaging sound went quiet. She stopped, holding her breath. After a few seconds, she heard a loud clattering noise like something had been thrown against a wall. She took another step forward, almost reaching the stairs. Then she heard that unmistakable sound again: the sound of a gun being cocked. He had gotten his hands on his pistol. She saw as he exited his room and looked around.

Audrena got an idea. She slowly walked over to the short stairs that led to the cargo bay, stopping at the doorway. She turned and shouted, "River! Simon! Quick, get in the shuttle!" She saw Dobson turn around and lock eyes with her. She quickly ran inside the cargo bay, flattening herself against the wall directly next to the door. Hopefully, he wouldn't check inside the infirmary as he passed.

She heard heavy footsteps pounding across the dormitory area. A few seconds later, Dobson tore past her, not even noticing her. He was looking up at the upper rafters where the shuttles were located. Audrena noted that he had another pistol tucked in the back of pants along with the one he was holding.

He moved towards the controls for the cargo bay door. He still hadn't turned around. He reached the controls and hit the button for the door. Immediately, noise filled the whole cargo bay. Audrena decided to make her move now, while Dobson was looking towards the now opening door. She sprinted over, trying to make as little noise as possible. She got to within five feet of him when Dobson started to turn, raising his gun arm towards her. She immediately dropped, sliding the rest of the way.

Her feet connected with his lower legs, making him fall over and drop his gun. It clattered along the floor, out of reach of the both of them. She rolled into a crouch, surveying her target that was now lying on the ground. His left arm was starting to reach back towards the second gun. Audrena stood and pinned his arm with her left foot, his hand inches from reaching the grip.

She leaned down and pulled the gun out. She straightened up, pulling her foot away and letting his arm free. She pointed the gun straight at his head. "Turn over. Slowly," she said, her voice cold and even. He complied, rolling onto his back. She heard footsteps from over head and a voice yelling out, "What's going on?" It was Simon.

"Fed got free, doc. He was looking for your sister. I got her safe in the infirmary," she replied, not looking away from Dobson. "You should go check up on her, make sure she isn't too shook up. Plus the shepherd was knocked out and I haven't gotten a chance to check up on him."

"What are you going to do with him?" Simon asked in a slightly fearful voice.

"Suppose that's up to the captain."

She didn't get a response for that, but more footsteps were heard. Just when the footsteps faded, the speaker crackled aloud. "Reavers! Reavers incoming and headed straight for us. We are in the air in one minute."

Audrena continued to stare down at the man. Hopefully the announcement meant that the group was coming back soon. "I know who you are," Dobson said.

"Oh?" Audrena asked, genuinely interested in how much Dobson thought he knew about her.

"I know you work for the Alliance, something secret. Way above my security clearance. Even more classified than that doctor's sister."

Audrena gripped the handle a little tighter. Apparently, Alliance must put out some information to local intelligence.

"You weren't my original target, mind you," he continued, giving her a grin. "But, if I can't get that girl, I might as well get you." He scrambled suddenly, reaching out for the first gun that was just out of his reach.

Audrena moved her gun slightly, aiming for his right arm. She fired a single round, the bullet penetrating his elbow. Dobson cried out in pain, rolling over to his right side and clutching his arm.

"You…bitch," he spat out. She aimed the gun back at his head and pulled back the hammer.

"That wasn't really smart. If you got information about me, you must have also been told never to threaten me. I don't really respond well to threats, what with my training and all. That was my job: threat removal."

"You think I'm a threat, just wait until Alliance gets wind of what happened here. There won't be any saving grace for any of you. And that girl? She'll be thrown back into the Alliance and left in a dark hole to rot for the rest—"

He was cut off from saying anymore Audrena threw a kick at Dobson's midsection. He let out and an "oof" and curled up on the ground. Hoof beats were approaching from outside and she heard the ship's engines begin to kick up. The captain appeared, Zoe and Jayne following close behind.

Audrena looked down at Dobson again. "Looks like you're out of time."

"What's going on here?" the captain demanded.

"Dobson got free, tried to capture the doctor's sister." Audrena answered quickly. "I took him down while he was opening the cargo bay door. Disarmed him and then shot him in the arm when he tried to reach for his gun."

"What do you want to do with him, sir?" Zoe asked, coming up behind the captain.

"Ditch him. He's caused enough trouble as it is. Jayne, help me with this trash."

Jayne grinned and rushed to grab the man by the legs as Captain Reynolds grabbed his arms, causing Dobson to scream out in pain again. Audrena lowered the gun now that Dobson was restrained. She watched as the two carried the lawman out to the edge of the cargo bay door.

"Wash, we're on," Zoe said into the intercom. She then punched the button for door mechanism. Audrena continued to watch as the captain and Jayne heaved Dobson onto the ground and quickly retreated to the airlock door before they were locked out. The last thing that they heard was Dobson's yells and the roar of the engines. Then the door shut, silencing the shouting lawman.

Audrena let out a sigh of relief. One problem was over. The ship shook as it lifted off, alerting her that they still had to shake the Reavers that were still closing in on their tails. She watched as Captain Reynolds, Zoe and Jayne ran up the stairs towards the bridge. Audrena decided to go check on Shepherd Book and the others. She quickly made her way to the back of the cargo bay and walked through the entryway towards the common area. The first thing she saw was Shepherd Book sitting on the couch, holding his head while Kaylee was sitting next to him.

She walked down the stairs and checked inside the infirmary. River was still sitting in the same spot, her arms still clutching her knees to her chest. Her face was a slightly fearful one. Simon was crouching next to her, trying to speaking softly to her. Audrena turned to face Book and Kaylee.

"Are you hurt, Shepherd?" Audrena asked.

"Only my pride," he responded, looking up and giving her a smile.

"He's got a couple of small cuts on his head," Kaylee put in.

"The doctor's tending to his sister. It can wait," Book said.

The loudspeaker sounded again. "Kaylee, I need you in the engine room right now."

Kaylee looked troubled, like she didn't want to leave the shepherd's side. "Go on, Kaylee. Sounds like the captain needs your help to deal with these Reavers," Audrena said, walking towards the couch. "I'll look after Book." Kaylee still looked hesitant, but a yell of "Kaylee!" coming from the direction of upstairs got her off the couch and racing up the stairs.

Audrena sat down next to the shepherd, trying to take a closer look. His head was still partially covered by his right hand. "Shepherd, can you please turn toward me?" Audrena asked. "I want to see the extent of the damage."

Book shifted his body and turned his head towards Audrena, removing his hand in the process. It revealed two shallow cuts on the right side of the forehead. "It's nothing," he said. "Like I said before my pride is hurt more."

"Are priests even allowed to have pride?" Audrena joked. Shepherd Book smiled. "True enough, I suppose."

Further conversation was interrupted when Audrena noticed that Inara was rushing down the stairs. She stopped when she reached the bottom. "Where are the doctor and his sister?"

"There in the infirmary. River's pretty shaken up," Audrena said, pointing to the infirmary door.

"I need you four to come with me. We're going to leave on my shuttle just in case the Reavers catch us," Inara said, walking into the infirmary. Audrena stood up, Shepherd Book following suit. Inara emerged holding River's left arm as Simon was holding her right arm. Audrena noticed Book was heading towards the stairs that led to the upper deck.

"Where are you going, Shepherd?" Inara asked "I going to see if Kaylee needs any help," he responded. Audrena was about to speak up, but Book stopped her. "I'll be fine. You take care of them. Keep them safe." Audrena opened her mouth, but then closed it again. She didn't really have anything to say so she just nodded. Shepherd Book disappeared up the stairs.

Simon, River and Audrena followed Inara made their way up to her shuttle. Once inside, Simon led River to Inara's bed and sat her down.

" _We're ready for full burn on your mark_ ," Kaylee announced over the loudspeaker. Inara entered the pilot's chair, Audrena standing right behind her. She held onto the chair as she tried to balance herself as the pilot tried to weave in avoidance of the Reavers.

"Does this usually happen on a job?" Audrena asked.

"Do Reavers try and track us down after doing business? No, this is a new one," Inara said, prepping her shuttle for lift-off. "But don't worry. Wash is probably one of the best pilots I've ever seen."

" _Kaylee, how do you feel about pulling a Crazy Ivan?_ " the pilot asked over the intercom

" _Always wanted to try one,_ " she responded. Audrena gripped the chair even tighter. There was about a minute more of silence as Audrena noticed that Inara was gripping her flight controllers, ready to go if needed.

" _Okay_ ," Kaylee said over the loudspeaker. After a few seconds, the ship lurched to the left, the view in the window of the shuttle spinning. Audrena grabbed on to the chair with all she was worth. The Reaver ship appeared in the window, and then disappeared as the _Serenity_ shot forward. They angled up towards the sky.

" _NOW!_ " the pilot yells over the loudspeaker.

The ship lurched even harder. They shot through the cloud layer and raced up towards the upper atmosphere. They were shaking the whole way, an after effect of the speed that they were reaching. After about ten seconds, the shaking stopped, and stars appeared in the sky in front of them. Audrena heard shouting over the loudspeaker. Someone was whooping and hollering.

"We're good, people," Captain Reynolds announced. Audrena let out a deep breath. She heard a sigh come out of Inara as well. "We're out of the woods," he continued. Audrena went to check on the rest of the passengers in the back. Simon was holding River with his arm around her shoulder.

"Do you need help getting her down to the infirmary?" she asked Simon.

"No, I've got her." Audrena nodded and returned to the cockpit of the shuttle. Inara was sitting her seat still.

"Are you okay?" she asked. Inara stiffened and turned to look at Audrena. "Yes. Yes, I'm fine. Just too close for my liking."

"I agree," Audrena replied, looking out the window. More stars were starting to appear as the blue of the sky was beginning to fade away. Audrena heard Simon and River make their way out of the shuttle. "It was a very brave thing that you did," Inara said suddenly. Audrena turned her focus back on the companion.

"Earlier, I mean. What you did for Kaylee. She's very dear to all of us"

"Oh," Audrena responded. "Thank you."

"I mean, I can't imagine what the captain would have done had Kaylee gotten hurt," Inara continued. "He was angry when you were hurt. I'm sure he would have furious in Kaylee had been hit instead."

"Yeah, he said he was grateful," Audrena said, smiling at the memory. "He said he would take me anywhere I wanted to go."

"Really? Have you chosen anywhere in particular?" Inara asked, looking intrigued. Audrena shifted, trying to get around the fact that she was looking for a place with no Alliance presence.

She shrugged. "I can't really decide. There's no place that stands out to me. But I've still got some time. I still need to heal after all." Audrena patted her lower back as she said the last part. Inara nodded in understanding.

"So…what happened out in the cargo bay?" she asked. "I heard a gunshot and I came out to see you standing over that agent. How did he get free in the first place?"

"Not exactly sure," Audrena replied, not really wanting to talk about this particular topic. "One moment I was reading in the common area, the next I heard a clattering sound coming from the dormitory. I looked up to see Dobson standing over the shepherd who was knocked out cold."

Inara nodded and Audrena continued, albeit reservedly.

"I locked River in the infirmary since I figured he was after her or the doctor. I tricked him into thinking that they were heading into a shuttle. I hid in the cargo bay and he ran past me, not noticing me. He ran towards the door controls and opened the door up. That's when I took my chance. I disarmed him and shot him in the arm. The captain came in and…"

"Yes, I know the rest," Inara said, interrupting her. She obviously didn't wish to remember that part. She got up from her chair and strode into the main part of the shuttle. Audrena followed her. Inara made her way to the entryway of her shuttle and then stopped. She turned slightly to address Audrena.

"I have to go speak to the captain."

"I'm sure he didn't have another choice," Audrena said.

"I know. That man was a danger being aboard. It's just…" Inara trailed off. She shook her head and disappeared. Audrena decided to make her way down to the passenger area. She walked down the stairs toward the middle landing. She stopped when she saw the small splotch of blood on the floor near the door of the cargo bay. The only thing that was left of Dobson, the Alliance agent. She shivered as she remembered, the moment only being about ten minutes ago.

She'd been found out, and now she was going to be hunted just like Simon and River. The Alliance had her information, although a very limited amount.

 _Blue shadows that will search for you in the night._

That had been what River had said to her when Audrena had woken up. _Seems like it came true._ She made her way down the final set of stairs and turned to walk towards the common area. She entered, spotting her tablet that was still on the table. A nice book sounded really appealing to her. She wanted to forget what had just happened the last fifteen minutes. She dropped heavily on the couchand picked up her tablet. She switched it on and selected her book. After about thirty minutes, she'd realized she only made it about two pages. Her head was just buzzing too much. She placed the tablet down again and laid her head back. She closed her eyes, letting out a deep breath. She tried to put all of the stress and pain of the day into that breath.

"Audrena?" a feminine voice said, making Audrena's eyes pop open and look for the source. She found Kaylee looking at her. "Yes?" she replied.

"Captain wants to talk to you. He wants to know what happened." Kaylee said in a soft voice.

Audrena sighed. She figured this was coming. She had only given the captain a brief explanation. She nodded and stood up, following Kaylee up the stairs. They walked along the hallway, past the dining area and into the front hallway. Ascending the short stairs, she stepped onto the bridge. Waiting for her were the captain and Jayne. The captain was in the pilot's chair, swiveled so he was looking at her. Jayne was off to the left side, near the port console, looking highly disinterested. Kaylee passed her and leaned against the main flight panel.

"Welcome to the bridge," the captain started plainly. "Normally I wouldn't bring a passenger in here, but considering what you've done for us the past couple of days, I'd say you deserve it." Audrena nodded, not knowing what to say. "Now since the only people that know exactly what went on were you and the lawman, I wanted to know what happened between you two."

Audrena nodded, telling the three of them what happened, just like she had told Inara. This time it was with a bit more detail. She didn't mention certain parts of her and Dobson's conversation, but told the rest as well as she could. "…and then I kicked him in the midsection for making a remark against the doctor's sister. Then I heard hoof beats and you came into view. You know the rest."

The captain nodded as she finished. "That's what I figured. Inara told me as much when she was in here earlier. And it matches up with what the cameras caught." Audrena stiffened a bit at this.

"Cameras?"

She didn't notice any cameras when she was in the cargo bay at all. She was hoping that there was no audio, but from how the captain didn't dispute what she had said, there must have been no microophones or audiodevices in the bay.

"There's a couple of 'em installed around the hold, mostly to make sure no passengers take from our supplies and the like. But it caught your entire fight with that fed." The captain gave her a scrutinizing look. "You did a good job with it, too. A pretty good takedown, and you got both of his weapons. Have you had self defense training?"

 _In a manner of speaking._

"My...parents made sure I could defend myself. Wanted to make sure I would be safe and secure," Audrena responded.

"Well, you definitely surprised him and you've given me half a notion to keep you aboard."

"Captain, are you sure?" "Mal, you goin' soft?" Kaylee and Jayne both asked, Kaylee with the former, Jayne with the latter. Audrena just sat there. For the past day, she had been trying to figure out where she wanted to go with no success. Now the captain was offering her a chance to stay, an option that somehow made her body feel light and warm.

"Are you serious?" She asked, almost thinking it was too good to be true.

"Yes, sir, are you sure it's a good idea?" asked a woman's voice that came from slightly behind Audrena. She turned around to see Zoe, the first mate standing there in some extremely casual clothes.

"Zoe, nice that you could join us," the captain said. "Where's Wash?"

"Sleeping," Zoe said in a deadpan voice. "Were you serious before, sir? You want to bring the passenger on as crew? To do what?"

"Well, I was just getting around to that," the captain said, turning his focus back on Audrena. She herself had turned back to face him. "What you made last night during meal time was nothing short of amazing, given the limited stores we have onboard." Audrena was about to dispute that, but the captain spoke up again. "What I'm asking is that you be the ships's cook, along with maybe coming along with us on deals and business exchanges from time to time."

"Sir, she's not much older than the doctor's sister." Zoe said

"I'm not saying she goes on a deal tomorrow, but she can definitely be useful. Come and take a look at what she did to the lawman before we came back from dealing with Patience," the captain said, beckoning her over. Zoe went over to the console and stared down at a screen. Captain Reynolds again turned his attention to Audrena.

"So?" he asked.

"Wait, ain't we gonna at least let the rest of the crew be here before she decides?" Jayne asked, pushing off the console.

"Jayne, the whole crew is basically here, and Wash won't mind anyhow," Kaylee responded. Zoe hmmed an affirmative on that statement, seeming to speak for Wash in the meantime. Audrena watched as Jayne looked around at the group assembled, counting underneath his breath. After a few seconds, he huffed and went back to leaning on his console.

"As long as she cooks good and helps out, I'm good with it," Jayne said, turning his attention to his fingernails.

"So glad to have your approval," Audrena said sarcastically. He sent a short smirk her way. Audrena turned her focus to Kaylee. She had a beaming smile. "It would be great if you came aboard, Audrena." Audrena smiled back. Finally she turned her attention to Zoe, who was just finishing up with the video. Zoe turned to her, face even.

"Well, you have some ability, can't deny that. Plus what you made last night was probably some of the best food I've had in a good long while." The rest hummed in agreement. "Sir, did you explain what some of the jobs may entail?"

"No, I hadn't yet. I was going to wait and see if she accepted first," the captain said.

"Sir, I don't think that's a good idea. She should know what it is we do before she joins."

"I didn't know what you guys were going to do when I joined on," Kaylee chirped in.

"That's because we didn't plan to do what we're doing now at that time," Zoe said.

"Well, I wouldn't say _that_ ," the captain said, nonchalantly.

"Mal, we still don't know who this girl is. What if she goes to the Alliance?" Jayne said, making his presence known again.

"Jayne, she shot a fed. The same fed, if you will remember that almost clipped our mechanic," the captain said with a slightly icy tone.

"Don't matter none to me. Push comes to shove, she may not see eye to eye with us." Jayne said, still picking his fingernails.

"Thirty seconds ago, you were completely fine with Audrena cooking for you." Zoe said, with a disbelieving tone in her voice.

"I just don't think we should be telling her our business is all. It's bad for—"

Audrena interrupted the conversation.

"Guys, as much as I enjoy you talking about me like I'm not here," she said, getting slightly guilty looks from them, "I give you my word I won't sell you out. I'm not big on Alliance what with what's happened in the past few days. I'm assuming you are a group of smugglers?" The immediate silence of the group plus Jayne's light swear gave her all the information she needed.

"That isn't... entirely inaccurate," the captain said, more to himself.

"Oh, really, Cap?" Kaylee asked dryly, "Seems to me she nailed it straight on the head."

"Look," Audrena continued, "I figure you don't try to do anything too illegal like human trafficking or the like. And if I had to take a stab, it seems like a couple of you were browncoats during Unification." At this, the captain and Zoe gave each other a quick glance.

"And that's not an issue with you?" Zoe asked.

"Why would it be? Sounds to me like you guys are just trying to make a living now that the war is over," Audrena replied.

"More or less," the captain grumbled, then he spoke up a bit more, "but as long as you're okay with participating in certain ventures that are less than legal some of the times, then you're welcome to join."

Audrena considered her choices for a moment. She hadn't really been lucky with trying to find a colony. Most either had too much Alliance oversight or were so sparsely populated that it didn't even seem worth it. River's words, _Keep floating_ , entered her mind. Traveling around with a group did keep her safer than staying one spot or potentially needing to uproot her life if discovered. Plus, for some reason, this ship felt safe, almost familiar. She looked up at the captain.

"Sir, if it's truly okay with you, I'd love to join," Audrena said with a smile.

"Great. But you don't have to call me 'sir'. Reminds me of less than good times. Call me Mal or captain," Mal said.

Zoe smiled and offered her congratulations before leaving the cockpit. Kaylee gave Audrena a quick hug, welcoming her to the group. She bounded her way out of the bridge, humming her way down the hall. Jayne left the room without even so much as a glance, muttering under his breath about questioning decisions. Once he left, Mal spoke up again. "Don't worry, he'll perk up after a while. No doubt after a few meals, he'll wonder how we ever got along without you."

Audrena chuckled and replied, "I'm sure."

"There's just one more thing I want to ask: how much Alliance training have you had?"

Audrena froze.

Mal continued. "That shot that you put through that agent's arm is textbook Alliance protocol when dealing with an enemy that's reaching for a gun. Saw it several times back in the war." He gave her a hard look. "Now like I said before, I'm usually not in the habit of carrying around Alliance agents, but the way you helped defend Kaylee and took out Dobson when you could have easily just let him go with the girl, you don't agree with what the grand Alliance is doing."

Audrena merely nodded, tension slowly flowing out of her, realizing that the captain wasn't going to toss her straight out the airlock.

"What you did in the past is your business, and I believe you have a good heart, but I ever sense that you try to cross me or my crew, we will return to this conversation. Am I clear?" Mal finished.

Audrena finally found her voice and responded, "Don't worry, captain. After what I've done in the past, I never want to intentionally hurt anybody. In reality, I never did. What I did to Dobson was only done to make sure that everybody else was safe. I would never do anything to hurt my..." She trailed off.

Mal chuckled a bit, "It's good to hear to think of us as friends. I know Kaylee has taken a strong liking to you already."

Aurena smiled. It had been a while since had someone she could potentially call a friend. "Like I said, I believe you have a good heart, so I know you won't do anything to harm us. And it's always good to have 'nother fighter to help us."

Audrena nodded, and turned to leave, ready to think about the crazy day that she had. As she reached the hatch, she heard Mal call out again. "And Audrena?" She turned to look back at him. He had a warm smile on his face.

"Welcome to the _Serenity_."


End file.
